Portable gas apparatus



W? & M. STRATTON.

I Retort.

Patented Feb. 1, 1853.

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W. STRATTON AND M. STRATTON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PORTABLE GAS APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 9,568, dated. February 1, 1853.

ing had to the accompanying drawings,

making part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is an exterior elevation of the stove, &c.; Fig. 2, a. vertical longitudinal section of the stove, retort, and cooler; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the head of the retort, with the disk removed; showing the clamp by which the disk is kept in place; Fig. 4-, the end or back plate of the stove exhibiting the draw portion thereof to readily change the retort.

The nature of our improvement consists in constructing a stove, retort, and cooler all arranged as to be portable in the strict sense of the term, which may be used for the manufacture of illuminating gas, from rosin or other suitable material.

The stove is constructed of any desired size but differs from others in having the front and back end plates cast in two pieces, so as readily to admit the retort to be placed in a suitable opening, and a portion we term a gate afterward inserted above the retort; by our mode of balancing the retort on the furnace or stove ends, so that the projecting ends and heads of the retort may counterbalance the weight of the center thereof, which heretofore has destroyed other apparatus by their sinking in the middle when softened by the requisite heat to eliminate the gas profitably: there being also no connection between the retort and the stove there is no destruction of the latter from the expansion and contraction of the retort. By the form of the stove and use of the additional section, dampers, &c., there is great control and advantage in melting the resin, with the waste heat from the retorts.

The form of the retort possesses the advantage of greater strength from the verti cal sides, which with the flat floor gives additional fire surface, and as there is little coke or fire brick employed as a distributing material,this fiat floor is very advantageous: the heads of the retorts being provided with ground disks inserted in the bolted heads,

the disks are readily removed and inspection made of the working condition of the retort by withdrawing the clamp screw, thus avoiding the necessity of breaking the clay- .lute and removing bolts in the heads, to ascertain the working condition of the apparatus. The clearing tap at the rear, af-

fords by the introduction of an iron rod,

facillty of removing obstructions in the outlet pipe which is a descending (instead of ascending) one, by forcing them down the outlet pipe: the outlet being placed below the floor prevents all the fluctuations of the tar backward and forward, as is the case of neck retorts; should any tar be formed, it descends the outlet pipe into the well of the condenser. In the feed pipe instead of the ordinary siphon which is troublesome to clear and liable to clog from the deposit at the bend, ours is a vertical tube through which the melted rosin descends into the front of the retort (when the cup is filled) by the pipe rising in said cup.

To enable others to construct the appa ratus we will describe it as follows: A represents the sides of the stove; B B, the ends; C C, gates in the ends; I), grate bars supporting the fuel; E, a plate near the top of the stove to spread the heat to the ends of the retort; F, a sliding damper by which the heat may be thrown directly under the rosin holder, it is thus represented in Fig. 2.

G is an additional section placed under the rosin holder H after the rosin is melted; 1, stop cock; J, a funnel and descending tube; K, an ascending tube rising from the front end of the retort, and extending an inch or two above the lower end of J L, the retort of a D form, with the arch springing high from its sides, the bottom perfectly fiat; M, the outlet pipe cast with the retort; N N, removable ends secured to the retort by bolts.

0 O are cast iron disks, accurately fitted by grinding into the ends or heads N N. They are secured therein by the clamps P,P.

R is a connecting pipe; S, pipe leading to gas holder and tar cistern; T, the cooler supplied with Water covering the pipes S and R as well as the lower end of M, thus making all the joints, water tight.

To use or work the apparatus: remove the section G, and lower the rosin holder so as to melt the crude rosin therein, then shut the sliding draft F, and raise H by replacing G, permit a fine stream of melted rosin to run into the retort at its front end, from whence it Will be distributed in a thin sheet over the floor of the retort, which should be kept at a proper heat say cherry red,'the gas will be readily formed and little tar flow, but should the heat become too loW and tar formed it Will descend by the outlet pipe M; the feed from the rosin tank should be cut oil", until the retort is brought to a proper heat, by opening the drafts, &c.: the gas descends by the outlet pipe M into the cooler T from whence it is conveyed to a gum elastic gas holder or other contrivance. The objections practically found to exist in Costons patentviz., difficulty of leakage in his cooler from its being con nected With his stoveare obviated by our invention, as Well as that of overcoming the WILLIAM STRATTON. MATTHIAS STRATTON.

Vitnesses:

ARMON LEWIS, F. GILBERT RITER. 

